GLENCOE, IL (June 9, 2014) – Pardon our appearance as we build a scenic and safe multiuse trail along Lake Cook Road to improve access for visitors who come to the Chicago Botanic Garden by train, bicycle, stroller, foot and wheelchair. The trail will link two popular north-south routes, the Green Bay and North Branch trails, and also provide a safe pathway for visitors arriving at the Braeside Metra station in Highland Park.

“We are working to make the Garden more welcoming and accessible to visitors using alternative means of transportation,” said Kris Jarantoski, executive vice president and director of the Garden.

Roughly 80,000 to 90,000 visitors enter the Garden by bike or foot each year. The North Branch Trail addition, a partnership with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and the Illinois Department of Transportation, will offer cyclists a safer alternative to Lake Cook Road and will enable pedestrians to experience one of the Garden’s natural areas, McDonald Woods. Interpretive signs will point out the glacial moraines, wetlands, woodlands and sedge communities along the way. A wooden boardwalk will provide passage over wetlands without impeding the flow of water through the area.

The $2 million project, funded largely with $1.65 million from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program, is scheduled for completion by mid- to late August. Once finished, it will connect two important Forest Preserve properties, Turnbull Woods and the Chicago Botanic Garden, and provide the missing link in a trail system that runs some 30 miles from Lake Bluff into the city of Chicago.

“We hope the new path will increase free usage of the Garden by making it safer and more enjoyable for all visitors to take public transportation, bike and walk here,” said Harriet Resnick, vice president for visitor experience and business development. Open every day of the year, the Garden offers free admission but charges nonmembers who enter by car a $25 parking fee.

“By encouraging alternative and intermodal transportation, the North Branch Trail addition will also help the Garden achieve another important goal—promoting sustainability,” Resnick said.

Mission statement: We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the treasures of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 27 distinct gardens and four natural areas. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply; parking fees apply. Located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, IL, the Garden is smoke free. Opened to the public in 1972, the Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society, accredited by the American Association of Museums and a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). Visit chicagobotanic.org, or call (847) 835-5440 for seasonal hours, images of the Garden and commuter transportation information.

The Chicago Botanic Garden offers classes for students from ages preK through adulthood through the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School. The hands-on learning programs are for people of all ages, abilities, interests, and backgrounds. Adult education classes include horticulture, garden design, nature studies, and botanical arts for all levels of interest. Other programs bring the wonder of nature and plants to children, teens, and teachers. The Garden’s community gardening programs provide access to fresh produce in Chicago’s food desert communities and training in sustainable urban agriculture for youth and adults. The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center provides laboratories and teaching facilities for more than 200 Ph.D. scientists, land managers, students, and interns whose research is critical to fulfilling the Garden’s efforts to save our planet by saving our plants. The Science Career Continuum serves minority students from Chicago Public Schools and throughout the region, mentoring them as they prepare for science studies in college and beyond. In conjunction with Northwestern University, the Garden offers a graduate program in plant biology and conservation with Northwestern University. The Garden is host to Botanic Gardens Conservation International-U.S., and a member of the Center for Plant Conservation.